THE head of one of Birmingham’s top private schools has urged the Government to fund more assisted places for poorer pupils.

King Edward’s School in Edgbaston is one of 80 independent schools calling for additional state help to pay the fees of bright youngsters from deprived backgrounds.

It is supporting a new Open Access scheme, proposed by education charity the Sutton Trust, which pushes for “needs blind” school admissions – with children winning places based on ability, not parental income.

If given the go-ahead, it could pave the way for 30,000 children being awarded places.

King Edward’s School (KES) has raised nearly £3million over the past two years for its own assisted places scheme to help talented students with £10,000-a-year fees.

King Edward VI High School for Girls, also based in Edgbaston, also operates a scholarship and bursary programme.

KES Chief Master John Claughton said he had been “deluged” with applications for the assisted places programmes.

He said: “We do not want to be a private school, we do not want to be separate.

“Next September, we will have 35 boys or more coming on assisted places, and 25 or so will be coming here for free.

“We would welcome anything that we could do to increase that number.’’

He added: ‘‘We had 600 applicants this year, of whom over 300 were for an assisted place.

“We have raised an awful lot of money over the past two or three years, but there are still boys who pass the examination but they have not got the funds.

“Putting money into selective schools may seem politically difficult, but all it is doing is bringing these kind of schools into the world of education.”

As many as 80 per cent of pupils at KES were once funded by the Direct Grant system – where the Government paid for school places for pupils who passed the 11-plus – until it was scrapped in 1979.

A replacement scheme, which saw local councils provide subsidies to take children out of state schools, was scrappedby the Labour government15 years ago.

Details of the Open Access programme proposal came as a Conservative-led local authority paved the way for the first major expansion of a grammar school in England for half a century. Members on Kent County Council yesterday overwhelmingly backed a 2,600-plus name petition demanding a boost in grammar school places in Sevenoaks.

Under government legislation, it is not possible to set up a new selective school but a relaxation of rules last year allows existing schools to open an annexe to cater for demand.

Sarah Evans, head teacher at King Edward VI High School for Girls, agreed with KES head Mr Claughton that state funding should also pay for disadvantaged pupils to attend private schools.

She said: “The demand for places is absolutely huge in Birmingham.

“We are overwhelmed with applications of children wanting an assisted place, both at 11 and 16. If the Government is happy to fund grammar school expansion – when they have, within the independent sector, specialist schools which are dealing with top ability range – to not allow independent schools to expand would be inconsistent.”